Fall color report #3 September 24th 2011

Fall color is really starting to increase across the area this week with the cool and cloudy days we’ve had. All areas accept for Austin are reporting “low color” with at least 20% to 35% color. Austin it’s self is still reporting slight less then 19% color. Most color across the area at this time is in earlier changing trees like Maple, Ash and roadside Sumac in colors of Red, Orange and Yellowish. Slight drought conditions along with a lime pierod of cloudy days are helping to speed up the coloring process. Peak colors for the area should occur in about 3 weeks if weather corporates.
Downtown-Orange Red Maple September 24th 2011

I’ve noticed significantly more fall color here in Rochester just in the past week. I raise color this week to Low Color-20% because it is now getting hard to find places that don’t have at least a little tinge of color. I’ve noticed Red Maples, Sugar Maples, Sumac, and Ash all starting to turn colors of Yellow, Orange and red and in areas with lots of these trees, color is picking up and starting to get impressive.

St Marys Park color

Here we see Ash (left) starting to turn yellow, and a Sugar Maple (right) starting to turn a very pretty red. Color in this spot has picked up just in the last week.
St Marys Park-West Downtown, Darf Burning Bush color.

Another thing I’ve noticed is many of the old houses around my neighborhood, as well as St Marys Hospital have mass plantings of these darf burning bushes around them, and it’s easy to see why! The color on these are astoundingly fiery red, and are a real eye catcher!

West Downtown Sugar Maples.

These young Sugar Maples in my neighborhood are really starting to get nice color, but they are some of the only Maples turning in the nieghborhood so far.

Entire tree view Sept 24th 2011-Looking Northeast towards Emerald Hills

I wanted to show an entire tree view to show that even though color is really picking up, it is still not very impressive when looking at a broad view.

Front yard view Sept 24th 2011

Here is a look at the very summer-looking Front yard view as of September 24th. The ash in the front is still appears to be starting to hint at color, but as one can see here it is lacking any sigificant color. Which is interesting becuase looking back in my old posts, ash trees in my hometown yard always had very good color by this time of year. Even the darf burning bush we have near the middle of the garden is still green.